9781250209153

“Thanks,” I say, reaching for the box, but Kevin holds up his hand.
“You might wanna check this guy’s breath first,” he says with a grimace.
“It’s not that bad,” Gunther says, but now that I’m closer to him, I can
definitely smell a strong, funky garlic smell.
“Oh woof, that’s bad.”
“Told you,” Kevin says. “Dude put raw garlic bits on there.”
Irene watches this interaction with her nose wrinkled. When I turn away
from the garlic sticks box, she grabs my elbow. “Thank you. I would have
refused to talk to you all night.”
“Well, as it is, darling, maybe you can escort me to the kitchen.”
“The way they flirt is so cute,” Honey-Belle whispers to Danielle.
“I completely agree,” Gunther says, standing as close to Honey-Belle as
possible while keeping his hand over his mouth.
Irene starts to head for the kitchen, but I hold her back.
“What?” she whispers.
“You need to hold my hand. We’re here to sell this to Tally, remember?”
“God, you’re a psycho,” she says, but she takes my hand anyway.
We make our way through the throng of people, all of whom stare at
Irene and then at me. By the time we reach the center of the house, my heart
is trilling, expecting Tally’s face to appear any moment. I scan the room out
of the corner of my eye, but I don’t see her anywhere.
“Well?” Irene prods.
“She’ll show up. Let’s get a drink.”
It’s hot and crowded in the kitchen, but the sea of people parts for us
until we find the island with the drinks stationed on it. I grab the vodka and
lemonade to mix myself a drink.
“What do you want?” I ask Irene.
“Water.”
“Ha, ha. I’ll make you one of these.”
“No, I just told you. Water.”
She butts me aside, grabs a Solo cup, and fills it from the sink. She
sticks a lime wedge on the rim of the cup so it looks like a mixed drink.
“What?” she says, seeing my expression. “Do you think I want people
giving me shit for not drinking?”